5 Things You Can Do With Your UPI VPA

Yashu MittalFounder & CEO at CodeCarrot

November 15, 2017 •
20 min read

Have you tried using the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) yet? This superfast method of payment can not just help you get instant money in your bank account but can also help you grow your business. Here are 5 things you can do with your UPI VPA (Virtual Payment Address).

Understanding UPI VPA

The UPI is developed by the NPCI(National Payments Council of India) – a government body that is into banking and payments innovation. It is built on the IMPS(Immediate Payments Service). While IMPS is chargeable, UPI for P2P is currently FREE of cost!

To be able to pay via UPI, you will need to create a VPA – an email id or a virtual address for your money.

A typical VPA looks like “yashu@upi” or “yashu@icici”.

5 things you can do with your UPI VPA

There are several things (with regards to payments) that you can do with your UPI VPA. Here are some basic things to know:

1. Link Your Bank Account

When creating your VPA, you can link a primary bank account. Whenever someone attempts to pay you or you pay someone, you can directly transact via your primary bank account. While the BHIM app allows you to link only one VPA to one address, some banks allow you to have multiple VPAs linked to a single bank account. You can also delete and add multiple VPAs.

2. Make Payments via UPI

Making a payment with your VPA is as simple as 1-2-3. You can use your VPA to pay to another VPA or an account number. You can manage your beneficiaries or receivers in your bank app or any other UPI app like BHIM. All you have to do is enter their VPA or choose their account number, punch in the amount you want to transfer and you’re done.

The payment is done immediately and the receiver gets the money directly in their bank account.

3. Recieve Payments via VPA

To receive payments with UPI, all you need to do is share your VPA with anyone that wants to make a payment to you. The money is directly transferred into your account.

4. Request Payments with VPA

You can also request a payment via UPI. Just enter the person’s VPA, punch in the amount and hit submit to send a request. If you don’t have the person’s VPA, you can select the person’s contact number on your phone and send them a request. They will receive an SMS or an app notification.

Please Note: The payment will be complete only if the person receiving the request authorizes the payment.

5. Sharing your VPA

You can share your VPA with anybody just like sharing your email ID. Should you be worried about security? Absolutely not. The UPI mode of payment is one of the most secure modes of payment than any other mode you are using today. None can steal money from your account just using the VPA.

To log into a UPI app, you will need to use an M-PIN or a biometrics parameter, which makes it as secure as any other mode of payment.

Failed payments are one of the biggest reasons contributing to lost sales in the Indian e-commerce sector. Why lose sales when you can capture every payment?